Grants and Contributions

Following the JWST ERS and Cycle 1 GO Announcement of Opportunity published on June 14, 2021, the CSA is providing funding via a Grant Agreement to the university to conduct their research using the JWST data.

Hot Jupiters present an unprecedented opportunity to answer long-standing question regarding the formation processes of giant planets by measuring the carbon-to-oxygen ratio of their atmospheres. WASP-127b currently harbours both the strongest known water and carbon absorption features of any exoplanet to date as measured from HST and Spitzer. Unfortunately, those observations cannot distinguish between a CO2-rich low C/O case, or a CO-rich high C/O case. Both of these scenarios would have drastically different implications not only regarding WASP-127b's atmospheric chemistry, but also in terms of what mechanisms are at play during giant planet formation. We propose to observe a single transit of the ultra-puffy hot Jupiter WASP-127b using NIRSpec BOTS to determine what is the dominant carbon species of its atmosphere. Distinguishing between these scenarios will provide invaluable information regarding the formation process not only of the intriguing population of hot Jupiters, but also giant planets in general.

Following the JWST ERS and Cycle 1 GO Announcement of Opportunity published on June 14, 2021, the CSA is providing funding via a Grant Agreement to the university to conduct their research using the JWST data. The project will be about…

The black hole (BH) mass function in the local universe—a fundamental measure of the origin and growth of BHs over Cosmic time—remains poorly constrained at intermediate masses. The very existence of BHs in this mass range is debated, but likely hosts include low-mass dwarf galaxies, for which the occupation fraction of BHs is an important ingredient for competing theories on supermassive BH (SMBH) formation. The launch of JWST enables a systematic census of BHs in compact stellar systems (CSSs), as similar studies are prohibitively expensive using current facilities. We have been awarded 41.2 hours of JWST Cycle 1 GO time to use NIRSpec/IFU to obtain spatially-resolved stellar kinematics of 18 carefully selected CSSs crossing nearly four decades in mass, and located in a single cluster environment. The R~2700 spectral datacubes will reveal dynamical fingerprints of BHs with masses lower than ever detected before, providing new insights into the occupation fraction of BHs in low-mass systems, and critical information on the origin of both CSSs and SMBHs.

Following the JWST ERS and Cycle 1 GO Announcement of Opportunity published on June 14, 2021, the CSA is providing funding via a Grant Agreement to the university to conduct their research using the JWST data.

Using the unprecedented spectroscopic and imaging capabilities of JWST this project is a first attempt to measure the age of stellar populations, the star formation rates, and the shapes of the earliest formed massive galaxies. The long-wavelength capability of JWST will reveal the nature of massive galaxies during their peak formation epoch and will return key information on how such galaxies and their massive black holes form so fast, so early.

Following the JWST ERS and Cycle 1 GO Announcement of Opportunity published on June 14, 2021, the CSA is providing funding via a Grant Agreement to the university to conduct their research using the JWST data.

This project will utilize the JWST to perform a multi-epoch, ultra-deep survey for small Kuiper Belt Objects. Near simultaneous observations with the Hubble Space Telescope will provide parallax measurements of the targets, resulting in the faintest ever survey for these objects. Support from the CSA will enable the development of a machine learning network to perform the search for moving bodies in the datasets from both telescopes. The resultant dataset of discoveries will enable a measurement of the Kuiper Belt size distribution over a size range ideal for identifying which planetesimal accretion processes resulted in Kuiper Belt Objects.

Following the JWST ERS and Cycle 1 GO Announcement of Opportunity published on June 14, 2021, the CSA is providing funding via a Grant Agreement to the university to conduct their research using the JWST data.

The JWST, with its unrivalled sensitivity at 5 microns where brown dwarfs are least faint, will search for companions orbiting around the 20 coldest and presumably least massive brown dwarfs in an effort to determine at what rate these stars form with companions. That multiplicity rate can provide important clues to understand the star formation process as a whole, from massive to low-mass stars.

This project aims to increase the economic independence of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, particularly women with professional qualifications in Peru's health sector. Project activities include: (1) facilitating the degree revalidation processes; (2) supporting skills upgrading of revalidated professionals by providing access to online education; (3) promoting certified Venezuelan professionals’ recruitment by employers in the health and other sectors; and (4) assisting professionals in gaining experience in the local job market by subsidized, short-term placements with local health facilities, health service providers, and other organizations in the public and private sectors.
The project targets at least 2,500 Venezuelan professionals (50% women) in the health sector including at least 600 professionals in other sectors. It aims to focus primarily on Lima, a concentrated area in Peru with 85% of the Venezuelan population, other regions with refugee and migrant populations, and where they are most needed.

Conflict-related Sexual and Gender Based Violence (GBV) linked to the conflict in Tigray has increased needs for support to survivors across Tigray, as well as the adjacent regions of Amhara and Afar. Gaps in services include women and girl’s safe spaces (WGSS) for increasing numbers of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Shire and Mekelle, and mobile medical teams offering reproductive health care, community outreach, and initial clinical response and referral for survivors of GBV.

This UNFPA project proposes to addresses gaps in response, assist in rebuilding government and local capacity for survivors of sexual violence, and increase GBV awareness and risk mitigation through protection measures. Essential Sexual Health and Reproductive services would reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, and serve as an entry point for GBV education and services.

The project would target locations in Tigray including Mekelle, Agidrat, Adwa, Axum, Shire, Maychew, Humera, Alemata, and areas in Afar and Amhara hosting IDPs as a result of the Tigray conflict.

The project aims to improve the health status of the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar to reduce vulnerabilities in the refugee camps and increase the utilization of comprehensive healthcare services by targeted refugees. Health services in the Rohingya refugee camps are inadequate in addressing the health-related needs of the over 900,000 refugees. Only 17% of the 200 health facilities in the camps have 24/7 access, and only three health facilities have surgical facilities. Women and adolescent girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health services have also been affected by the COVID-19 lockdowns and reallocation of health care resources. These sexual and reproductive health gaps can result in avoidable maternal and infant mortality and long-term gynaecological health problems. There is a low level of understanding and awareness of sexual and reproductive health exacerbated by stigmatisation around family planning, contraception and menstrual hygiene management. This cultural issue limits women and girls’

This project aims to encourage young leaders to become more knowledgeable about the transboundary nature of water scarcity and how the lack of coordinated water resource management threatens the livelihoods and national security interests of Israelis and Palestinians and the stability of the region as a whole. The project contributes to building trust and expertise to address the core issue of water management in a future peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. Project activities include: (1) focusing on national stakeholder events and site visits impact of water and climate crisis on local people and communities; (2) developing new models and analysis of a water-forward approach; (3) providing regional conferences and trainings for stakeholders; (4) providing training for educators and youth on water diplomacy; and (5) providing joint trainings for Israelis and Palestinians on water issues.

This project advances the Government of Canada commitment to plant an additional two billion new trees over the next 10 years as part of a broader approach to nature-based climate solutions.